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Bishop Paprocki’s New Book Provides 8 Steps To Spiritual And Physical Fitness

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SPRINGFIELD- In Running for a Higher Purpose, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, a marathon runner and hockey player, shares how running unlocks not only physical benefits but also profound spiritual wellbeing.

Bishop Paprocki took up running as a teenager for his health. He ran his first marathon in his 40s. Along the way he discovered that improving your physical health through running is a way to honor God and grow deeper in your spiritual life.

Perfect for those who want to try running for the first time as well as for more experienced runners who want to set goals for a new challenge, Running for a Higher Purpose offers eight steps to reach spiritual and physical fitness:

  1. Review —Review where you are.
  2. Reform — Identify how to improve.
  3. Resolve — Resolve to put change into effect.
  4. Repeat — Don’t quit.
  5. Renew — Renew your physical and spiritual wellness.
  6. Relax — Balance physical and spiritual exercise with the need to rest.
  7. Reward — Feel personal satisfaction and reward by achieving your goals.
  8. Rejoice — Integrating a sound mind in a sound body leads to eternal happiness.

Each chapter includes an inspirational quotation, a personal promise statement, and a prayer.

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“The wisdom that I share in this book from my years of experience will not necessarily make you the fastest runner in the pack but should help to make you a successful runner in the sense of someone who sets out to reach a goal and then accomplishes it by crossing the finish line,” Bishop Paprocki said. “The eight steps to physical and spiritual wellness are intended to help you not only set goals and achieve them as a runner, but also to apply the same formula to your growing and deepening spiritual life.”

“The world is a better place because of this book,” said Patrick McCaskey, vice president of the Chicago Bears. “It will help us get to Heaven.”

Bishop Paprocki is an avid hockey player and runner, having run 24 marathons throughout the world and raising about $500,000 for charity. Paprocki is the chairman of the Episcopal Advisory Board of Catholic Athletes for Christ and is the author of another book, Holy Goals for Body and Soul.

To order a signed copy of Running for a Higher Purpose, go to holygoalie.net. The cost is $15.95 if you pick up the book at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Springfield (1615 West Washington St.) or $20.95 if the book is mailed to your address.

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